LateNight Interlude
by mvdiva
Summary: A little bit of fluff. Inuyasha reflects on his feelings of inadequacy in protecting Kagome.


_This one's for Kate-chan_. Inuyasha and all its characters are property of Rumiko Takahashi, and many thanks to her for letting me play in this wonderful world. 

**Late-Night Interlude**

            Overhead, the wind whistled darkly through the treetops. A whiff of residual smoke from the fire wafted past his secluded spot in the crook of a tree, and Inuyasha blinked to remove the sting from his golden eyes. 

            Gathered around the campfire, Sango and Miroku were cuddled near each other, situated so he couldn't see their faces. Kagome sat isolated from them with a sleeping Shippo nestled safe in her arms. 

            Inuyasha's right ear twitched and he rubbed at it, irritated. The dark-haired couple was carrying on a conversation mostly based on terms of endearment that made a childish part of the silver-haired hanyou want to gag in revulsion. Nevertheless, he remained silent, watching the lone girl's face illuminated by the dancing flames from the campfire. He narrowed his eyes as she shivered slightly, looking wistfully towards the general location of his perch.

            _Why does it always seem like she's so sad here? He wondered. Kagome's large hazel eyes dropped from their search of the forest down to the young youkai sleeping in her arms. The lines of her face took on a tender quality, and Inuyasha felt a small twinge from the general location of his heart. _

            As if aware of the attention on him Shippo shifted slightly, nuzzling deeper into the warm folds of Kagome's shirt. _Geez, how does that kid do it?_ It wasn't like he was jealous or anything, but the small kitsune managed to make the girl produce smiles that Inuyasha would never achieve even if he stood on his head all night. _You aren't jealous? A small voice asked in his head. Inuyasha shifted uneasily on the branch, wincing as a chunk of bark dug into the small of his back near the most recent wound which had not yet completely healed. _

"Of course I'm not jealous." He mumbled out loud. 

            It had been several weeks since Sango and Miroku had finally admitted their love for each other. The inevitable fight with Naraku hung heavily over all their heads, but the demon exterminator and the monk somehow managed to act so carefree. It wasn't fair. Unconsciously, Inuyasha's hands clenched and the sharp claws dug into his palms.

            Movement illuminated by the fire caught his eye. Kagome gracefully placed the sleeping Shippo on his small bedroll, and stretched. The couple across from her didn't respond, other than to lean together until their foreheads touched. 

            The girl sighed, and Inuyasha sighed with her. Gods, he loved her, but none of this was supposed to have happened. Kagome was supposed to be living happily oblivious in her own time, hundreds of years away from the feudal period. The tiny kitsune that looked to her as his mother figure would have been raised by his own parents, and by all rights the couple blissfully ignoring her would probably have never met.

            And as for himself? Inuyasha snorted derisively. _I would have been pinned to that damned tree by the arrow of a very pissed priestess for all eternity. He looked at his right hand, flexing it slightly and watching as the moonlight overhead reflected off the sharp claws. _All this would never have happened if it hadn't been for me.__

            The thought made him swallow. Everything was his fault. Trapped between two worlds, scorned by human and youkai alike…it was all stupid. He could still remember the adrenaline rush as he soared among the treetops as arrows from the angry villagers did their best to strike. It had all been for nothing, but which had also indirectly led him here, to the girl who had claimed the whole of his heart. 

"What are you thinking about, Inuyasha?"

 Startled out of his reverie, he glanced down. Kagome's pale face looked up at him almost sadly. _How did she know where to find me? For a second he paused, wondering if he should acknowledge her question. _

With a little sigh, he scooted off the branch and jumped down a few feet away from her. She pulled back, startled, and reached for the nearly completed jewel which hung around her neck. Slender fingers rubbed at it thoughtfully as he faced her, arms crossed. _Heh__.__ She really didn't know where I was. He smirked slightly, pleased with his disappearing act. Her mouth moved, but no words came out and he shifted from foot to foot in the silence. _

"What do you want?" The words finally came out harsher than he had intended, and Inuyasha winced inwardly. _Idiot. His mind spat. Kagome had been a little moody lately after their last shard retrieval. The snake youkai had gashed her upper left bicep in its death throes before he was able to jump and block it. Ever since, she had been quiet and withdrawn, speaking little to the others, and not at all to him. At his sharp tone, her eyes welled up. _

"I…I was wondering what you were thinking?" Her voice cracked slightly on the last questioning syllable, and a dark blush suffused her cheeks which even his human eyes could have noticed in the near darkness. With a sigh, he dropped into a cross-legged position on the warm summer grass, and she followed suit facing him. 

_            How can I tell her that I was thinking about her?_ He mused. Kagome smoothed out her wrinkled skirt with one hand, keeping her eyes downcast. "I was thinking about the upcoming fight with Naraku." He lied, and felt a similar blush blossom in his own cheeks. 

She managed a quiet "Oh" as she began to pick at blades of grass at her side.

            _Stupid hanyou._ He cursed himself. The awkward silence stretched out between them while the firelight slowly died behind them. Racking his brains for something to say, his golden eyes fell on the makeshift bandage tied around her arm. _Perfect. Nice, neutral topic. His brain reasoned. _

"Does it still hurt?" Kagome looked up at him quizzically before noting his glance. She poked lightly at the injured area, and managed a bravely cheerful look. "Nope. It's all better now, thanks to Kaede's herbal remedies."  Inuyasha looked up at her fully, and the hazel eyes gazed back at him, full of a strange sadness that poked out through the mask of her forced cheerful smile. 

            "You don't have to pretend." He said quietly. His pride screamed in protest as he considered his words carefully. "I know it still hurts. I saw what that damn demon did to you, and I'm sorry that I didn't get to it soon enough." Dark blades of grass in front of his feet held a strange fascination as the burning in his cheeks only grew stronger. 

            Suddenly, Kagome's hand was on his arm and waves of reassurance flowed between them. "You have nothing to be sorry for." She flashed him a genuine smile. "It was my own fault for not ducking when you told me to. "And this-" Her arm flexed a few times. "This will be just fine."

            The warm hand on his arm moved to cup his chin as Kagome leaned forward, looking directly into his eyes. She smiled again at him, and scooted a little closer until she was only a few inches away. Inuyasha suddenly felt a little woozy as the depth of emotion he saw there. 

_She would never want you, lowly hanyou._ A wave of despair engulfed him as the last moments of the youkai's death flashed before his eyes. Kagome had cried out in pain as the tail sent her flying through the air. His own rage had nearly boiled over in response, and only Miroku's calming voice had kept him from slashing the snake's dead body into ribbons. _I have nothing to offer her…I can't even protect her!_

Guilt made him break their stare, and he pulled away from her gentle grip. "You don't understand." He found himself saying. "That thing could've killed you, and I couldn't even protect you." Kagome uncurled from her sitting position, and moved to stand menacingly over him. Her eyes flashed dangerously, but her voice was a controlled quiet that made a shiver go through his body.

"I can take care of myself, Inuyasha. You're always so busy watching out for me that you can't even watch out for yourself." 

She reached around behind him, deftly poking the sore spot on his back to prove her point. He rolled away from her, wishing now that he had never come down from the tree. "And don't you tell me that you're fine. I know you haven't healed yet, and somehow you're still blaming yourself for my stupid arm!" Indignation flared in the back of his mind, and his ears flattened to his head. This was too much. Her insults were preferable to this new form of degradation. 

With a deft flip, he rolled to his feet, baring his fangs as he faced her now. Nonplussed, Kagome advanced. He spared a second to hope that she hadn't been taking pointers from Sango on how to control a man with the palm of her hand. Inuyasha's face just wasn't up for a good slap right now. 

Her eyes flashed again, and the tables turned. She began to narrow the space between them as he scooted away. "Inuyasha…" He waited for the verbal onslaught that was to come, but there was nothing. She stepped up in front of him, and poked him harshly in the chest with a finger. Surprised, he glanced down. All the fire was gone from her eyes, leaving only the familiar sadness behind. 

_What are you thinking, Inuyasha?_ Her voice in his head prompted an answer as an end to this argument. "I…I was thinking about you!" He blurted out, and turned away before he could see her reaction. "I was wondering why you stick around me…us." She was silent behind him. Had she noticed the slip in his words? Shit. _Good one._ The voice in his head sighed. _Now she's sure to get out of here as fast as she can._

Against his will, the silver-haired hanyou snuck a peek back to gauge her mood. Kagome stood with her head bowed a few feet off, heavy bangs shadowing her face from the seeking fingers of the moonlight. He braced himself for the violent outburst of words that she was likely preparing for, but once again nothing came. 

"I know you're still here only out of some sense of duty," He began. "But we…I care about you." Heart hammering in his chest, he turned to face her and Kagome lifted her head. Tears sparkled against her cheeks. _Oh great, now you made her cry in disgust._ He couldn't think of any way to make this worse than it already was. What would she say if he had managed to tell her just how much he cared? He was just a lowly hanyou, not even worthy of her attention. Aside from being able to sense the Shikon shards, there was no reason for this girl from another time to even to be here in this world, but he found that he didn't want her to leave.

"I was thinking about you too." She mumbled, breaking the silence. Her admonition was just loud enough for his ears to catch.

 Something lifted inside him and the pain in his back was forgotten as she launched herself into his arms without notice. His golden eyes widened in surprise, but he managed to catch her before they could hit the ground. They stumbled for a second before balance was regained. With eyes closed, she snuggled into his chest, breathing deeply the clean scent of pine needles and ramen which had infused itself into his being. "Oh Inuyasha…" Her voice trailed off. What was there to say? He smiled down at the top of her head. A new feeling of joy flowed through his body until the possibility of flying wasn't so ridiculous. Inuyasha returned from his euphoric high to notice the sag in her shoulders, and he smiled in recognition. The short-lived fight had taken all her energy, and she was almost falling asleep standing up. 

With a small tug, he pulled her back across the glen towards the warmth of the fire. Sometime during their brief exchange, Miroku and Sango had curled up and were now asleep next to each other, blankets piled high over their bodies. Shippo was tangled up in the nest of his own blanket and sleeping pallet, but he stirred sleepily as the hanyou pulled one out from the nearby pile.

Silently he gestured Kagome to sit, and she complied as he returned to her side with the thick linen. He sat, assuming a comfortable position. She woke up enough to question him silently with her eyes, and he nodded his assurance. With a small shrug of acceptance, she crawled into his lap like a small child, and he draped the warm blanket over both of them. Carefully he placed his arms around her, and they looked at each other for a minute. 

Trying to smile his most winning smile, Inuyasha looked down at her already drooping eyelids. "Get some sleep, Kagome." He murmured. She smiled lopsidedly at him, and nuzzled her head into the left side of his chest. Within a few comforting beats of his heart, she drifted into dream. As soon as he was sure she was asleep, Inuyasha shifted his legs slightly, adjusting to the feel of her weight against him as he wrapped his arms a little tighter around her body, careful to avoid the injured arm.

Across the fire, Miroku snorted quietly in a dream, and tightened his own protective grip around Sango's peaceful form. Inuyasha listened intently for a few moments for any signs of imminent attack. Only the sound of crickets reached his sensitive ears, and he relaxed. Looking down at Kagome's face, he wondered at the night's complete turnaround. She was so beautiful and pure, completely trusting herself to his protection. Briefly he thought about how unworthy he was to be sitting here just like this. The firelight cast a warm glow over her cheeks, and she smiled, as if aware of his scrutiny.

Gently, he lowered his head to rest on hers. Tomorrow morning might be interesting to explain to the others; not to mention the aching muscles that were sure to protest, but somehow, he didn't care._ Sure beats sleeping in a tree, huh?_ The thought voice piped up quietly, and he had to agree. 

_FIN_.


End file.
